THE MIXED-RACE CHILDREN
Like in any other war, relationships were bound to happen.
England was fascinated by the African-American men, women declared that they would prefer Black to White, and the troops were taken by the warmth and interest expressed by locals.
There are several publications, and many more online articles, regarding ‘brown babies’, with attempts to guess how many of these children had been born as a result of relationships between White British women and African-American soldiers.
The truth is that nobody knows or will ever know exactly how many children were born from these relationships.
A total of 40,000 “war brides” emigrated to the US, benefiting from the free passage to the US for themselves and children.
However, African-American men were forbidden of marrying a White women or take her to the US. In reality, they would be court-martialled or even condemned to death, if they would persist on such lunacy.
Source: Frank Bolden Photo Collections 1912-2003
Only a very small number of children born to black G.I. fathers and British mothers were raised in the US, as some of them were successful taking the woman and the child.
Most children remained in the UK, being sent to orphanages, others remained with the mother.
In most cases they were ostracised by the parent and the new White spouse, by society, that had now a change of behaviour, and therefore no longer accept Black people and even less mixed-race children.
In many cases, they were abused by the family or in school, with some being left severely traumatised.
Some never understood why they had been left in orphanages or behind by their American father, not realising that, for many, the contact was lost and they had no means to find their child in the UK.
The fact that numbers will never be known, is also related to the fact that many abortion cases happened at the time, with some research that suggest that some women were desperate enough to try to end their pregnancy at any cost.
The reality, for the women that became pregnant , was extremely bleak.
Their own families would turn their back, nobody would give them a job, landlords of houses or rooms would not let to them, and they were forced to give away the babies.
Moreover, when the war ended, and married men started to return, women did not want to present them with an illicit mixed-race baby.
If they managed to travel to America to marry a Black man, they would face a barrage of insults and discrimination, as it was considered that only women of low breeding would do such thing.
Most of them ended up returning to Britain, as they could not cope with such life.
And for those African-American that decided to return to the UK, fondly remembering the happy times during the war, the reality hit them more heavily than a gun during battle: places to let would carry signs saying ‘no coloured’, people were aggressive and considered them no longer allies but competition.
